Prince of Thieves
by once.upon.a.hundred.dreams
Summary: This story is rated T, and is told through both Amu's and Ikuto's pov. As you may have guessed, Ikuto is the 'Prince of Thieves'. Ikuto and his gang hide in the forest of 'lento, and make a point of stealing from the rich. One day, Ikuto is nearly caught by the villagers, only to be saved by an unexpected ally- Amu. Can he, in return, save her? -Other cannon pairings within.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is . .dreams, and I hope you will enjoy my first ever fanfiction :)**

**Oh, and this is fairly obvious, but anyways, I take no credit whatsoever for Shugo Chara, or these characters. **

**I have written a couple more chapters, but I would rather wait to see your reactions to this chapter first before posing the rest, that way I can make any necessary edits before posting. This is rated T, purely because it mentions Amu being abused by her 'stepfather'. There are no highly sexual, gruesome or crass scenes, and there will be next to no- if any- swearing. **

**Please review, I am open to any feedback, though if it is an 'I hate this story' then please make sure to justify so I can change my writing for the better :D**

_**Chapter 1**_

She had only been five when her real parents had died. She had almost had a little sister too, but her mum and dad had died in a car crash on the way to the hospital. The baby had died instantly with them, before it had even been born. Her nightmares were full of these past memories, even though her present life was bad; it haunted her to know how differently she could've lived.

These were the thoughts running through her head as she was forced to shovel coal at 6:30 in the morning, the same way she'd been doing for the last seven years of her life. What she didn't know, was a certain blue haired, blue eyed person who just **happened** to have his face plastered across hundreds of wanted posters all over town was going to twist her stupid, annoying life all over again.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooo

I finished my first shift at ten, and went to go prepare my 'stepdad's' lunch. I had never called him dad, and he made it obvious he had no interest in me; apart from whether or not I prepared his food, cleaned his house, shovelled coal to save him paying for an extra employee and -most importantly- didn't tell the officials about him abusing me.

I opened the fridge and groaned- there was nothing in there! I had been shovelling coal at breakfast time, so he must have made Utau (the other maid, and my best friend) make breakfast. I banged my head on the fridge in frustration. Now I'll have to go to town to do the groceries again.

It's not like I have something against going to town, it's just that every time I go I get wolf whistled and flirted with. I don't really like THAT kind of attention. Years of working underground have left my skin milky and pale and my body slim. My pink hair frames my oval face and my golden swirling eyes had a way of glowing when I smiled, or so I was told.

As I walked along the dusty road that ran along the edge of the dangerous forests of Scarlento (shortened to 'lento) I couldn't help but wonder what lurked within. After all, THATS where the rumours say the "prince of thieves" the "second robin hood" and all the other names he has, makes camp. Apparently he has a gang, and steals money and food from the rich or unworthy, and gives some to the poor as a way to protest against all the unfairness that occurs here. And for those reasons alone, I could never hate him like everyone else, because he had the will and strength to survive when I didn't. To me, that makes whoever he is a hero.

As I walked, deep in thought, I couldn't help but smile at the cool, soft breeze, and the sun-dappled grasses and swaying trees. I have always loved the sunshine, but I barely get to **see** it. No one knows of the cruelty I've endured and, because my "_Dad"_ is kind and sweet and all that rubbish in town, no one would believe me if I told them. On top of that, if I told, he'd take it out on Utau and vice versa for her. And I could NEVER do that to someone.

As I left the dusty old path for the hard cobblestone floors of the town, I looked up and saw another wanted poster for the mysterious blue-haired man. After several moments of careful checking behind me, I cautiously removed said poster and placed it roughly in my bag, beside all of the other ones I had ripped down. It was the least I could do to help.

I continued walking until I reached Nadeshiko's place- she was the local greengrocer and a close friend. I was almost to her door, when I heard shouting amidst a huge crowd. I would've ignored it too, except I saw a wad of blue hair in the corner of my and knew it was HIM. I rushed over to the scene.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO- IKUTO'S POV-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I swung through the luscious trees of the forest with my eyes closed, still thinking of the mysterious girl with the bright pink hair. "Strawberry" I named her in my mind; I've never found out her name- I've never even TALKED to her! She rarely leaves that place (her house?) and; though I'd never admit it; I haven't had the guts to talk to her yet.

Unable to think WHY I always think of her or WHY I can't talk to her, I attempted to push her out of my mind. It worked... that is until I saw her conveniently walking down the dirt road right beside the tree I had perched in.

I watched as she walked; analysing her. Her body showed beauty, her curled fists showed determination, pink hair showed uniqueness, serene smile showed love, and a peaceful character, but, those eyes showed sadness, and unshed tears. Oh god, now I'm analysing her? I'm the prince of all thieves for god's sake! But even that thought didn't stop me from curiously watching her as I practically stalked her. God she was so oblivious, with looks like hers she should really be more careful.

I had the intense urge to run to her. I decided that I'd wait to see how she reacts to the wanted poster for my head. Wow, they've even raised the price, must have been because of the gold necklace I'd stolen from that stuck up Princess Saaya.

The pinkette approached the poster and carefully looked around. I froze, did she realise I was here? Her gaze slipped straight over me and relief washed through my mind. She then swiftly and roughly tore down the poster and slipped it into her bag. For the short-time her bag was open I could see many other posters of me in there too. I was slightly puzzled, what on earth does she want with all my posters? I smirked; maybe my strawberry has the hots for me, eh? Wouldn't be the first girl posting up pictures of me in their bedroom. But this girl was different, she didn't squeal over me or anything. Then I came to a confusing conclusion, she was… helping me? I wonder why? I mean it's not like she even knows-

"GOTCHA AT LAST STUPID THIEF!" a man's voice yelled as I felt someone grab my hands behind my back. That was the moment I realised that, entranced as I was by the pinkette, I had begun to move forward and had unintentional stepped out of the forest, and into the open town. Bad mistake. The man was strong, and though I might have been able to take him, there was already a crowd forming around us, and I knew escaping was probably not an option.

The man brought a hunting knife from his pockets and announced boldly, making sure all the village girls would hear, "this stupid thief has been sentenced to death multiple times and I think I may as well do this community a favour and finish this scum off now!"

A few running steps and a flash of pink later, the strawberry-haired girl was standing directly in front of them, her face having fallen in to a perfect calmness with a hint of attitude in it and a LOT of determination. "You don't want to be doing that." She stated simply, as if that explained everything. Something in her gaze stopped the grown man from mocking her, and instead he met her gaze, but with a certain level of respect in his eyes.

"And why is that, may I ask?" the man questioned as his hold on my arms loosened just a little bit. As I wondered why he was giving up so easily, I realised something. He doesn't want to kill me. People in this stupid town can be arrogant, prideful, stupid and downright unfair, but none of them were killers. And the girl knew that. She was helping out the man, as well as me, because she knew if she gave the man a reason not to do it, the man would happily comply. He didn't want to kill me, he was just trying to show off to the ladies.

"Well," she replied after a moment's thought, "there are a couple of reasons. First, if you killed him now, despite his many death sentences, it would count as murder because he hasn't had a trial, and traditionally he must be hanged after the court has passed judgement." The crowd murmured in agreement, her words rang true. "Also," she continued, "though he ought to die for his sins, it would benefit this town a lot more if he provided us with some free labour, don't you think?" the crowd once again murmured agreement, but I suddenly got a sinking feeling in my stomach- maybe she wasn't trying to help me after all. "So," she concluded, "I think you should hand him over to me, and I'll walk him back to my father's coal mine. You know my father, right? He is of great importance to this town and funds many things for you I think you should try and get on his good side by giving him an extra worker, what say you?"

The crowd chorused their agreement and I could see they were well won over. The man holding me replied with a simple shrug, and started towards the dusty road that I knew lead to the pinkette's house.

"Thank you kind sir," her voice cut through the chatter, "but I'm afraid I need to buy some groceries, then go home, just leave him with me, don't worry, I'll be fine, I'm fairly strong for my age and gender." The man gave her a doubtful look, so, to prove her point, she swiftly turned to the man beside her, picked him up, and threw him couple of meters to the left. The man handed me over fairly quickly then.

**Well, that'll be then end of the first chapter of Prince of Thieves :D**

**Hope you found that somewhat enjoyable :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, **

**I wanted to thank Riri-kun, God Fenrir, Natsu713160, Bassethound1021 and a lovely anon for all their reviews :) thankyou soooooooo much for taking the time to tell me what you felt. **

**so, here's my next chapter, I hope you like it :)**

**no guarantees that all chapters will come out this quickly, but hey, I'll do my best. **

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-Amu's pov-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO

I quickly dragged the thief away until we were well away from the crowd and safely in Nadeshiko's home/shop. I gave Nade the list of groceries I needed and she disappeared to go fetch it all. It was only then I let out a relieved sigh and turned to meet him, the so-called Robin Hood of this town. I must admit, although I was never very attracted to guys, he was very good looking. Dark blue hair, Safire eyes, slender body. His wanted posters didn't look half as good as the real thing, and plenty of girls had swooned over those- I'm sure they would have feinted at the sight of the real thing. Blushing at my thoughts, I quickly turned away and regained my composure before talking to him. Seeing as there were no other customers it was safe to converse with him now.

"Hey, my name's Amu; sorry about before… don't worry, I won't actually make you work in the mines."

His gaze seemed to sweep right through me, almost as if he was attempting to read my soul. It was several minutes before he answered; I had almost begun to fear he hated me. "You saved me." He stated bluntly. I couldn't figure out whether it was a thankyou or an accusation.

"Ummm yeah? Want did you want me to do, let them kill you?!" I said, getting slightly angry at the fact that he didn't seem grateful in the least. "Well I'm sorry that I was trying to help you maybe I should have just let that man kill you seeing as you obviously-

My voice stopped short when he suddenly pulled me into a hug, his slender arms pulling me to rest against him. I felt my face explode in crimson red as my blood immediately reacted to my embarrassment at being so close to him. Just as I opened my mouth to scream at him to let me go, he spoke.

"Thank you, Amu." His voice was soft and mysterious, but at the same time sincere. "Im sorry if I offended you, I'm just not used to being helped by strangers... I was attempting to figure out your ulterior motive." He pulled back a little to look into my eyes. I couldn't read the expression in his eyes; it wasn't like any expression I'd ever seen before. Then that look was gone, replaced by an annoying smirk that looked like trouble. "Well, well, well, Amu, your face looks like a tomato." He teased, making me blush harder.

"sh-shut-upp!"

He pulled me in closer and whispered into my ear, "You're so adorable when you blush like that _Amu._ He said, emphasising my name in a creepy way that sent shivers down my spine. Then all of a sudden he leaned a little closer, as if he was about to whisper something to me and BIT MY EAR!? WHAT ON EARTH? THAT HURT!

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" I raged, "WHAT RIGHT HAVE YOU TO BITE MY EAR? WHY WOULD YOU EVEN DO THAT?"

'Well," he answered with a calmness that really irritated me, "that was my thank you for saving me."

I'm fairly sure neither of us could tell if I was flushed with anger or embarrassment, but before I could continue raging, Nade came back with my stuff. Seeming to understand I wasn't in the best of moods, she completely ignored my blush (thankfully) and gave me my stuff. "Seeya soon Amu-chan, be safe while walking past 'lento, sometimes thieves that don't only steal from the rich lurk there," she said, glancing at Ikuto.

"Okay 'Nade," I replied, "bye".

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—Ikuto's pov-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wow, I am starting to find this girl MORE interesting than before, if that's possible. She seems to have a slight split personality issue, but even without that she is different to any other girl I've ever met. She's obviously smart, extremely strong and athletic, beautiful, polite, easily angered or embarrassed and she doesn't scream and worship the ground I walk on. Yup, she's a strange one.

I love the fact that in order to make it look like I'm her prisoner she's holding my hand tightly as she drags me through town. Her hand was warm, her slim fingers intertwined with mine, but there was something wrong. Something was seriously out of place; I just had to figure out what. Ugh, it's right here, in the back of my mind, I just can't grasp it. Just as we reached the end of the town I figured it out. Her hands were way too calloused to be the hands of the lady I assumed she was, after all, if her father had that much influence on the townspeople then surely she was rich? That's when I had a small flashback about Nadeshiko's parting words to Amu. "_Seeya soon Amu-chan, be safe while walking past 'lento, sometimes thieves that __**don't**__ just steal from the rich lurk there." _ Nadeshiko basically just called Amu poor… but her father funds heaps of village projects? Now I'm really puzzled.

I decided that the best way to get answers was to be my usual blunt self. So, instead of beating around the bush, I simply turned to her and asked. "Amu, why is it that your hands are calloused, you are way too strong for a lady of your age and Nadeshiko basically called you poor back there but yet you said your father funded many town projects?" I blurted in one breath, which I'm actually quite proud of.

I could clearly see the shock in her eyes, just before her façade slid back into place and her face became neutral. "You noticed all that did you" she said, sighing. I waited patiently for an answer but none was given, which irritated me. I did not like being ignored. Especially by her, for some reason.

"Well?!" I practically screamed, causing her to jump, startled back to reality, as it seemed she had been lost in thought.

"Oh…" she replied looking into my eyes, searching for something. She obviously didn't find what she was looking for, which I expected, because my eyes never show my thoughts. My thoughts were proven true when she simply said "that's none of your concern," and walked a little more ahead of me.

I looked back, we were very far from the town, but the road was straight, and so we had to keep walking for a long time, that way if anyone from the town was watching us they wouldn't see her let me escape. Not knowing the answer to my question was killing me, so I reached towards her and grabbed her arm. As I reached towards her she instantly flinched, which confused me, but I had already grabbed her arm. Once I had her arm she started to cry silently, pain written on her face, clearly trying not to scream. I immediately let go, not sure what I did to cause such a reaction. Wait…. Oh please tell me that her father doesn't…

"Amu, pull up your sleeves." I ordered firmly. That's right; it was not a request but an order. She obeyed after a moment's hesitation, and my thoughts proved to be right yet again. Her arm was completely purple with bruises, and I assumed the rest of her was too. I suddenly felt anger explode through my mind, who would dare hurt someone as pure as the girl in front of me?!

"Amu did your father-

"DON'T CALL HIM THAT! THAT MONSTER IS NOT MY FATHER AND HE NEVER WILL BE!"

I just stood there shocked at her outburst.


	3. Chapter 3

**heeeyyy its chapter three :)**

**special thanks to God Fenrir and Riri-kun for commenting AGAIN 3 as well as another lovely anonymous person :P**

OOOOOOOOOOOO-Amu's pov-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"DON'T CALL HIM THAT! THAT MONSTER IS NOT MY FATHER AND HE NEVER WILL BE!" I screamed.

I saw Ikuto just standing there in shock and realised I had just screamed that out loud. My face flushed bright red in embarrassment and I murmured a small "sorry Ikuto" as I turned away from him.

"Amu…" he started, his voice having a shocking amount of emotion in it, and I realised once again that he truly wasn't a bad guy, not that I would ever tell him that. "You can talk to me, I won't tell anyone…" he sounded so sincere, and I realised that I hadn't opened up to anyone except Utau and 'Nade in years. I decided it wouldn't hurt, but first I had to make something absolutely clear.

"I will tell you, but if you tell ANYONE else, then my "stepdad" will most likely beat me to death, and he will also take it out on my best friend, Utau. If you don't honestly think you can keep my secret then please just tell me, or I will COME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND HUNT YOU DOWN KILL YOU IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY POSSIBLE!" I finished up smiling sweetly. I had to admit, I'm not the best at threatening people, but I am, in fact, dead serious.

He looked me in the eye and said, completely honestly, "It will go with me to my grave."

That's all I needed to hear so I started talking.

"My real parents died when I was five," I softly began. "My dad was driving my mum to the hospital because she was pregnant with my little sister- 'Ami' was to be her name. But a drunk driver went through a red light and hit them. Mum, dad, and the baby were immediately killed from the impact. I like to think they are watching me from heaven." I admitted, smiling softly up at the sky. "None of my few other relatives wanted to take me in, so I was put into the orphanage, where I met Utau. She was my only friend at the orphanage, and we used to go swimming in the stream together. That's probably the happiest days of my life, my first five years not really counting as I can barely remember them." Now I paused, I was now getting to the touchy part.

He smiled a small, but encouraging smile, and I couldn't help but notice the way his hands were clenched into fists and despite me, I began to feel a little happy that he cared. With a deep breath I continued.

"Utau and I were bought by a man by the name of Kazumi. He makes Utau and I call him "stepdad" so that the other villagers think that he is being a good fatherly figure. Whenever he goes to town he basically sucks up to everybody, so now even if I did tell anyone they wouldn't believe me. Utau and I take turns, one does a shift of shovelling coal while the other cooks and cleans and serves Kazumi, then we switch. That's why I'm so strong. And,, well… about the bruises… Kazumi is drunk a LOT and, well, surely you know what drunken people are like? Luckily he doesn't beat Utau… probably because Utau doesn't talk back to him," I mused with a careless shrug.

"And you're going to go back?" he asked, shocked.

"Well, I can't just abandon Utau can I?" I replied, "I'm fairly sure that's why he doesn't let us go out at the same time.

We reached the turn in the road; the town was completely out of sight now. I turned towards him and gave him a shy smile. "It was nice meeting you Ikuto, I'm glad I could help you, I'd better get back quickly or he'll know something's up. Bye Ikuto." And with that I started walking "home".

"I'm coming too!" he said, pouting.

"What? I was lying about the extra worker thing, you can go free."

"No." he replied, still pouting. "I wanna stay with my Amu-strawberry-chan"

"What?! Don't be a kid, just go home and quit following me!" My face helpfully decided to blush bright red. Thanks a LOT face…

"But I will never 'quit following' you _Amu._" He declared a little creepily, smirking when I blushed again. Argh, I hate my face so much right now!

I felt my cheeks warm even more when, to prove his point, he clung on to my arm like a little kid would and gave me a puppy-dog face. This guy is so frustrating….

While this had been going on, I had sub-consciously walked home, and they now stood outside my house.


End file.
